Alejandro Royo

From 01/08/2014 to 05/09/2014

After having spent 3 weeks working as a volunteer doing toilet construction, I decided to do the Annapurna Base Camp Trek with VIN. They provide me everything needed for the trek: experienced and very nice guide (Pradip Adhujari, who also speaks very well English), the accommodation, the meals, the transportation, and some very useful advices about what to carry and what to do if certain problems may arise.

First, we went to Pokhara the 24 of August, by bus, and the day after we started trekking. The fist journey was easy and short, as it was not very recommendable to start really hard.

The second and third journeys were really intense, we walked long distances. During the first 3 days, the weather was not good: it was very rainy and cloudy, but we lucky because in Tadapani we had very nice views (for half and hour) of the Himalayas.

The forth day we start trekking from Chhomrung, and we finish the journey in Himalaya. We rested properly because the following day we were going directly to ABC. That day the weather was good in the morning but awful in the afternoon and during the night. We were worried because of it: we were not too confident that the next morning the day would be clear enough to see the mountains properly. However, when we woke up that morning, at 5:00 am, the sky was very clear and we could enjoy perfect views of the mountains for several hours: we were really exited.

After that, it took us 3 days to return to Pokhara, and the trek was over.

For me, this has been one of the most excited experiences in my life. Being able to see the Himalayas so close is something that any person who comes to Nepal should not miss at all. Is a unique experience. Moreover, during the trek, you meet many people, from different countries, and that makes the trek even more interesting. In addition, the organization was perfect, so you do not have to worried about anything but enjoy the trek.

Finally, I definitely encourage all volunteers to do a charity trek before or after their volunteer work because I am sure they will not regret at all!